Reddit is pushing again in opposition to requires the corporate to do a greater job of moderating disinformation. In a thread titled Debate, dissent and protest on Reddit, CEO Steve Huffman stated the corporate would proceed to level customers to authoritative data from the CDC when coping with misinformation associated to COVID-19. What it received’t do is ban communities that “challenge the consensus views on the pandemic.”
“Dissent is a part of Reddit and the foundation of democracy. Reddit is a place for open and authentic discussion and debate,” Huffman stated in a thread that’s locked, stopping Reddit customers from replying to him instantly. “This includes conversations that question or disagree with popular consensus. This includes conversations that criticize those that disagree with the majority opinion. This includes protests that criticize or object to our decisions on which communities to ban from the platform.”
Huffman’s assertion doesn’t reference a selected neighborhood or incident, however as Vice points out, what probably prompted him to say something in any respect was a thread from r/vaxxhappened, a subreddit the place folks share memes about anti-vaxxers. “We call upon Reddit to take action against the rampant Coronavirus misinformation on their website,” says the title of the put up, which accuses Reddit of doing “nothing of substance” to deal with the issue of misinformation on the platform. As of the writing of this text, it has almost 170,000 upvotes, with numerous different communities crossposting the thread to their subreddits.
“We could have been better off months ago, but disinformation and lies have been allowed to spread readily through inaction and malice, and have dragged this on at the cost of lives,” the put up says. “There can be no room for leniency when people are dying as a result of misinformation on this platform. Reddit as a global platform needs to take responsibility here.”
While Reddit typically isn’t talked about in the identical breath as Facebook and Twitter, the platform is a supply of misinformation. You can go to numerous communities on the web site that persistently share COVID-19 conspiracy theories. The solely roadblock stopping entry is a touchdown web page that warns you you’re about to enter a subreddit that has been “quarantined” by the corporate for sharing misinformation.
All merchandise advisable by Engadget are chosen by our editorial crew, unbiased of our dad or mum firm. Some of our tales embrace affiliate hyperlinks. If you purchase one thing via considered one of these hyperlinks, we could earn an affiliate fee.
#Reddit #CEO #rejects #name #crackdown #coronavirus #misinformation #Engadget
